Sprouts

[dunker817]

Today I stopped at the organic store and bought some bulk seed and grain to make sprouts. I have found several web sites that offer premixed products. I am wondering if the experienced sprouters here could share what their birds like best. Also, I have read of adding products to the water to keep yeast and bacteria down. Do these products work? Are they recommended?

Thanks

Layne

[Sally]

Some people use grape seed extract when sprouting seeds, I use Virkon-S (the Mike Fidler method), still others use just plain water. A friend of mine never adds anything to the water, just rinses several times. You want to get the soaked seed to the point that it just chits, just a tiny bit showing, not a long sprout like you see for sale in the grocery store.

I used to buy special mixes for sprouting, but with shipping, they have gotten more and more expensive, so I am going to try sprouting my regular finch mix that I serve to my birds. You can't do this if your seed mix has those little colored bits in it.

[kyle]

It took a while to find what works for me. I let the seed soak for two days, rinsing 3 times each day. On the 3 day alow them to drain but remain damp. Again rinsing 3 times. On day 4 rinse and serve. When I first started trying to sprout finch seed I had a fear of poisoning my birds. Lol. The first few failed attempts smelled as bad as it looked. So i tried grape seed oil for a while then red cider vinegar but still had to rince. In the end it seems if you rinse it often enough the water is enough to clean it.

[dunker817]

Thanks. So far my first experiment with sprouting is not doing too well. I've heard if the seed is not fresh it won't sprout. I could also not be soaking it correctly. The web site I used said to soak for 24 hours then rinse for the next couple of days. It said I should see the chits in 24 hours. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again, LOL.

[Leo519]

I'm also curious about sprouting my own seeds since they're supposed to be so nutritious and add variety to a bird's diet, but am nervous about trying it because of the scary stories I've heard about harmful germs and stuff that can develop during the process.
I would be willing to use some of the "special chemicals" that are available to keep bacteria from growing if anyone can attest to their effectiveness

[lnlovesorange]

Leo519 Virkon -S is the BOMB. I have the tablets, so I just throw one in w/ 2 cups of water which gives me a 1% solution, and Virkon KILLS any bad germs and bacteria, but your birds can practically drink it straight and it won't hurt them (i wouldn't try it, but you can soak their water dishes in it, put the water directly in after taking it out of the virkon soak and give to the birds. So it's brutal to the buggies, but not the birdies!!! I have never tried anything else, no I'm lying, I used bleach before I got the virkon, but you have to be careful i believe the solution is like a drop to a quart of water, or some crazy low amount .... but it worked too... But again, I recommend Mike Fidler method and Virkon S, you can also use it to clean the cage (put in a spray bottle) clean their dishes, and bowls and sprout their seed, it's recomended to clean pig troughs and stables as well... It's just all around a great product and worth the money! Good Luck, oh and I buy Terri's Sprouting Mix from www.glamgouldians.com My gouldians DEVOUR it, my zebras like it, but not nearly as much as my gould's do! Let us know what you decided and how it worked (both of you Laura & Layne) Good luck!

[debbie276]

Here are the video's of Mike Fidler showing you how to sprout. I love how easy it is, I used to use the black and white seed mixes but now I just use their regular seed mix.
part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xdo4XkExes
part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqzo0T3VBPk
part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gyidk_1Swk

good luck

[ApricotMuffins]

http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-VKP1014- ... d+sprouter

That's what I sprout/chit my seeds in. I haven't had any problems in the several months I've been using it, and I can usually serve the chitted seeds about 24-30 hours after I start the process in the containers. I've never had any problems just using tap water without additives.

If you are concerned about bacteria or fungus you could use virkon s, ACV, or a bleach solution in the water you run through the compartments.

[Leo519]

lnlovesorange@debbie276@ApricotMuffins

Thanks for all the useful info, you guys are a wealth of knowledge!!
I watched the Mike Fidler videos and now feel comfortable enough to give this a try myself

[dunker817]

Thanks for the links. I watched all of it and it seems pretty simple. I am interested to know what his black and white seed mix contains. Now I just need to get my hands on the Virkon S.

[debbie276]

I'm not sure you can get the seed anymore. It used to be available from fabulous finches but Bill is no longer, or at least at the moment, selling bird supplies.
The Virkon S can be found on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/DUPONT-00502-50-V ... +50-Tablet
and many other places, just do a google search for it

Let us know how you do

[dunker817]

I wasn't sure if I needed the powerder or the tablets so I ordered the tablets from glamgouldians.com. Also got a bottle of avicleanse for the bath station.

[Sally]

I think the tablets are the way to go, unless you have a lot of birds like I have. I bought the tub a long time ago, and even with a lot of birds, it lasts a long time!

[dunker817]

Well I made my second batch of test sprouts and nothing happened. Tomorrow I am getting the tubs and stuff like Mike Fidler used in the videos but what about seed? I have seed from Herman Brothers and I ordered seed on line from Handy Pantry. They sell organic sprouting blends but the bag I got won't make enough sprouts to feed 8 finches.

[debbie276]

I've sprouted several of the mixes from Herman brothers